A Look Back at 2023
It was another busy year for us here at the workshop. We’re building more guitars than ever with a growing team, taking part in more events than ever and releasing more models.
With all that, there are of course a lot of highlights to look back on as we reach the end of the year, but also a lot to be thankful for. So first of all, thank you to all of you for following our work, supporting what we do and playing our guitars. You’ve been a part of all the great things we’ve got to do this year and made them all possible. We couldn’t do it without you!
As things wind down in the workshop, here’s just a quick round up of a few of the highlights from 2023 and a look forward to the year ahead.
New Models
Perhaps the standout from this year would have to be the addition of not one but three new models to our line-up: the Krautster III, Dolphin ’59 and Dolphin Special.
These models all cover ground we’ve visited in the past, either through custom orders or simply through discussions and plans, but these are all specs that we’ve wanted to offer as standard models in the line-up for a while now. It means our whole model line now focuses on our signature Dolphin body shape, which is the direction we’ve been heading for some time. If you caught my recent video, you’ll know we were sped up a little in this by certain considerations to do with a US company – thankfully, we were already heading in this direction, so we felt even more certain that we were going about things the right way.
But those are the more mundane considerations. The thing that really excites us about these model releases is the reaction from you guys. The whole point was to provide things people have been asking for – and we’ve been considering – for ages at this point, and we’re proud to say we believe we achieved that. So many of you at The NAMM Show and Guitar Summit this year told us how much you love the new Dolphins and the Krautster III, and that you see them as an improvement on, development of or exciting blend of our established models. This is exactly what we were aiming for and what drives us when doing something new, so it makes all the work worth it to hear players say exactly that.
Artists have already been taking the new Krautsters and Dolphins on stages and into studios, really putting them through their paces, and their feedback has been incredible. We have players currently with Krautster IIs putting in their requests for Krautster IIIs to complete their touring rigs, and there are already amazing custom orders coming in and being built that we’re really excited about. All in all, we couldn’t have asked for anything more when it comes to putting these new models out into the world. So, again, thank you for all your support and positivity. Myself and the team can’t wait to show off more of these builds in the new year.
Events
It wasn’t just busy in the workshop this year, but out of it too! We were fortunate enough to be a part of amazing events around the world in 2023, something I hope continues into 2024.
As well as a really positive NAMM Show (it was great to see so many of you again!), we also had Guitar Summit in Mannheim, proving that guitar shows have come back really strong after the interruptions of the previous couple of years. Both shows were busy and we got a lot of great feedback on the new models, but the best part was getting to catch up with so many familiar faces and getting to know a few new ones as well.
But trade shows were far from the only guitar events in 2023. We revealed The Guitar Barrel Project collection with a group of fellow luthiers at an amazing event at Pombal’s Palace in Lisbon, were hosted by our dealer Art of Guitar in Dubai for a very special VIP launch event, and had a great time talking all things guitar with great people at No.1 Guitar Center in Hamburg for the Crossroads Festival – including this little interview I did with Thomas Blug.
Like I say, here’s hoping for so many great events next year!
Developments in the workshop
Building on last year, we expanded the workshop and the team in 2023, so we now have the capacity and expertise to do more than ever before. This has also helped us to redesign some of our workflows and open up new possibilities in our work – always exciting!
It’s an incredibly talented team we have working here, and developing further means we can get to more of the things we have planned for the future…
Looking ahead to 2024
I’m hoping for another year as filled with new developments and opportunities as this one, and we already have plenty in the works.
You can expect to see more from us involving artists from our roster, both online and at in-person events, some of whom have some amazing things planned themselves for the year ahead. We’ll also be collaborating with players beyond our roster for some fun projects, so keep an eye on our Instagram, Facebook and YouTube channel for all of that.
I think we’ve filled out our line-up pretty well with new models (for now at least) but that doesn’t mean the year will go by without some special or limited builds. We do have a 25th anniversary to celebrate after all…and one signature model already underway…
On top of that, the developments in the workshop continue, and I’ll just say for now that you’ll be seeing the results of some of that online over the coming months, so stay tuned.
Already plenty to tease ahead of next year then – but first, a well-earned rest for the whole team. They’ve put in a year of serious hard work, and I think the results speak for themselves.
Thank you again for all of your support in 2023, and I can’t wait to share more with you all in 2024!
– Nik
